Product Manager

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If you need assistance or a reasonable accommodation to complete your application, we're here to help. Please reach out to us at [email protected] and let us know how we can support you. You do not need to share personal details or disclose the nature of your request. You can expect a response from a team member within 24 hours during the regular work week and on the next operating day during the weekend or holidays.

Why Bixal?

Bixal is a consulting company headquartered in Fairfax, VA, working alongside governments and organizations to help them deliver better services and experiences to the communities they serve. Using evidence-based knowledge and technology, Bixal empowers clients to deliver on their missions more effectively by fostering a culture of learning and continuous improvement.

Our values:

• People-First : Emphasizing the importance of people in all aspects of work.
• Collaboration and Transparency : Valuing teamwork and open communication.
• Growth Mindset : Encouraging innovation and continuous improvement.
• Creating Lasting Impact : Focusing on meaningful outcomes and positive change.

About the role:

We are seeking a Product Manager to lead the development, enhancement, and governance of digital products within the U.S. Department of State (DOS). This role focuses on the DOS data analytics environment, enterprise reporting systems, and AI/ML infrastructure supporting mission-critical consular services globally. The ideal candidate is a strategic thinker with strong technical acumen and hands-on experience managing product lifecycles in DevSecOps environments. The Product Manager will work closely with data scientists, platform engineers, AI/ML specialists, and government stakeholders to deliver secure, performant, and scalable data services and AI products that meet compliance standards (e.g., FISMA, Section 508, WCAG) and align with the Digital Services Playbook.

This is a full-time position contingent on contract award by our client, with a defined performance period of one year with two one-year option periods. This role offers you a unique opportunity to make a meaningful impact on a project that aligns with Bixal’s mission of delivering innovative, human-centered solutions. While the role has a fixed duration, we are committed to transparency and collaboration, keeping you informed about contract updates and new opportunities. At Bixal, we support your professional journey, ensuring your experience reflects our inclusive, purpose-driven culture and prepares you for future success.

Compensation:

The salary range for this role is $115,000 – $125,000. In the spirit of transparency, most offers tend to land near the midpoint of the range. We make compensation decisions thoughtfully, considering your experience, the skills you bring, and our commitment to internal equity. Fairness and transparency are core to how we operate.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the implementation of the product vision, roadmap, and lifecycle for DOS-managed digital products.
• Lead discovery and gap analysis efforts to assess toolsets, infrastructure, and data pipelines.
• Ensure alignment with Government digital strategies, AI governance frameworks, and enterprise architecture standards.
• Ensure the translation of the technical requirements into product features, stories, and backlog items in coordination with platform architects and engineers.
• Lead the deployment of secure, cloud-native AI infrastructure optimized for high-performance computing, scalability, and cost-efficiency.

• Oversee the implementation of CI/CD pipelines for model lifecycle management and AI-powered services.
• Ensure robust monitoring for AI/ML model drift, enforce retraining cycles, and integrate automated testing and deployment strategies.
• Collaborate on securing Authority to Operate (ATO) for all deployed solutions and ensure compliance with RBAC, data encryption, audit logging, and DevSecOps principles.

• Conduct weekly engagements with internal stakeholders, system owners, developers, and end users to gather feedback and manage expectations.
• Lead agile ceremonies (backlog refinement, sprint planning, demos) and ensure team adherence to agile and SAFe principles.
• Serve as the liaison between technical teams and government product owners to facilitate approvals, demos, and iterations.

• Partner with UX researchers and front-end engineers to validate product decisions through usability testing, design artifacts, and A/B testing.
• Ensure all interfaces meet Section 508 and WCAG 2.1 AA compliance standards for accessibility across platforms.

• Define and track OKRs and KPIs to evaluate product success, user adoption, and operational performance.
• Deliver reports and dashboards that communicate product health and business impact to government stakeholders.

• Manage and optimize the use of tools such as GitLab (CI/CD, issue tracking), JIRA, Confluence, and observability stacks (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, Splunk).
• Evaluate and recommend open-source and COTS tools as part of a modular tech stack strategy for analytics and AI.

• Other relevant duties as trained and qualified to perform.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field.
• 5+ years of technical product management experience, with at least 3 years managing data-centric or AI/ML products.
• Proven experience managing full product lifecycle in cloud-native (AWS, Azure, or GCP) DevSecOps environments.
• Familiarity with MLOps practices, data pipelines, automated testing frameworks, and secure API development.
• Strong understanding of compliance frameworks (FISMA, FedRAMP, Section 508, WCAG) and Agile delivery in federal government contexts.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and communication skills, with a strong technical grounding.
• Experience working with the Department of State or the Department of Defense on data analytics or AI/ML efforts.

• Have an active Secret Facility Security Clearance.

Nice to Have Skills and Experience:

• Experience with containerized infrastructure (Docker, Kubernetes), Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, Ansible), and logging/monitoring tools.
• Experience with AI/ML model governance, reproducibility, and explainability.

How We Support Our Team:

• Flex hours
• 401K with matching incentive
• Parental Leave
• Medical/dental/vision benefits
• Flex Spending Account
• Company provided short-term disability and life insurance
• Commuter benefits
• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• 11 Paid holidays

Our company is committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all individuals and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local anti-discrimination laws. Employment decisions are based on merit, qualifications, and business needs.